The oil markets remain on an upward trajectory, supported by lower exports from Iran and Venezuela and strong overall demand. Atlantic basin benchmark North Sea Dated gained $2.97/bl to $76.72/bl in the week to 30 August, a rise of $8/bl from mid-August. US light sweet marker WTI fi rmed back above the $70/bl mark for the fi rst time since the end of July, adding $2.42/bl to $70.25/bl. Relatively bullish US stocks data helped sustain the increases, pointing to fi rm demand for products and rising crude exports, which helped off set reduced refi nery runs. Crude stocks at the Cushing hub in Oklahoma are only a third of last year’s peak of almost 70mn bl but have crept back up to 24.3mn bl, adding almost 2.5mn bl in August. Further gains are likely as refi ners head into the turnaround season and Canada’s synthetic crude output ri
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